Online Learning: Growing up Digital

This week my tech class had an online learning week in which we were instructed to watch two Frontline documentaries concerning growing up online and how our country has become a digital nation. Both videos were informative and relevant to our recent class discussion on digital citizenship and teaching in the digital age (both of which you can find on my blog). We were also given some questions to think about while watching the video; ideas to guide us in writing about them. I thought about these questions beforehand and thought that I could give just my opinions and easily answer most of these questions. Even so, I knew I had to sit down and watch these videos, and to be honest I suggest anyone reading this to do the same.

In the first video, Growing Up Online, I met some people, teens and their parents, teachers, and writers that had a lot to say about how it is growing up in this digital age. For most of the video I was nodding my head in agreement with the teens, after all I did grow up online. As I continued watching the video I started agreeing with the parents, the ones that were concerned about internet safety and about how their children were totally unaware of how much information they were putting on the internet. I had never thought about these issues when I was a teen; I was too excited to get online, to have an excellent new way to chat with my friends (I didn't have a cell phone and neither did my friends). It was so wonderful to use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) to chat with friends and to meet new people.

My parents never knew what was going on when I was at the computer, much like the parents of the teens interview on the Frontline video. Like my parents these parents were ill-informed and without the know-how to really control me online. And they trusted me, that kind of trust that you have as a child until you abuse and lose it. The parents in this video probably trust their kids too, thankfully though this video was put out almost a decade after I was a teenager online. Parent's are getting smart, they are learning that there is a need to educate your teen to be safe online. They are teaching their kids to watch out for online predators and bullies. This video opened my eyes to ways I should have acted online, as compared to the way I did act online.

Digital Nation didn't seem to address as many of the discussion questions we were given but it did address, in minute detail, the concept of multitasking. We were asked if we could multitask, if we agreed with the research presented on the video or if we disagreed... I was definitely on the side of the students, after all I can totally multitask. Right now I am typing this blog, checking my sources online, looking for images when I remember to, and listening to Law and Order: SVU.  I've been multitasking since 2002 when I got away from the dining room table (where I used to do homework) and into my dorm room (where I had a TV one foot away and all the music I could find online). I don't think it's hindered me in completing assignments to get the maximum credit, in act I find that when I am not multitasking I have a harder time staying on task.

Here is a short YouTube video about multitasking

I do agree with Professor Nass though, from Stanford University, who says that my generation is no longer writing essays, we're writing paragraphs. I won't go so far as to say I write one paragraph and then do something else, normally I write and take notes and then go back and look up things, like images. One of the students from MIT, that was interviewed for Digital Nation, said that he was always doing something while he was doing something. I have to admit to agreeing with him, I'm always busy, even when I'm sitting still.

Another question that this documentary addressed is how quickly we're moving into this virtual world. Some of the educators interviewed were concerned, they stated that we (as people, I presume) need to slow down, to deplug I suppose, and that schools were one of the places we needed to do that. He preceded this statement by saying that he didn't believe we needed to move at the pace of our students, it was "hogwash" to think that. I was astounded that an educator felt that way because as educators it is our job to move along with our students, to stimulate them in ways that will enhance learning, not disengage with them.

Funny, but true?

One of the questions posed to us concerned the internet being an addiction, this is the one question I thought I could give an opinion on without watching the videos, and my answer would be yes. The internet is an addiction, I don't think it's as detrimental as say...cocaine, but it is still an addiction. Many people, myself included, find it hard to sign off. There are detrimental side affects of Internet Addiction, problems with staying connected to your family, issues with getting schoolwork done efficiently, these are very real concerns. However, I think that we are going to be finding a lot more people to suffer from this affliction. The internet is not going away, it's not going to become illegal (hopefully), and it's going to get better. It's an ever changing medium to gain knowledge.

The internet is not something to be feared, by parents, or teachers, or students, but is something to be informed about, to know how to use it properly and effectively. Have your fun, play your video games (educational or otherwise), Google to your hearts content, but be safe, be smart, and use this excellent technology wisely. You wouldn't use a gun without proper instruction, this is no different.

Discussion Questions:

1. Compare and Contrast each documentary. What has changed from the first one (Growing Up Online) made in 2008 and the newer one (Digital Nation) filmed in 2010?

  In the first video, Growing Up Online, I met some people, teens and their parents, teachers, and writers that had a lot to say about how it is growing up in this digital age. They really showed the dangers and misconceptions about the internet. In Digital Nation they talked about the positives of the internet, they discussed other issues, such as the gaming situation around the world, but for the most part I think it was far more positive and informative.

2. Your thoughts on multitasking? Do you agree? Can you multitask? Do you disagree?

 I've been multitasking since 2002 when I got away from the dining room table (where I used to do homework) and into my dorm room (where I had a TV one foot away and all the music I could find online). I don't think it's hindered me in completing assignments to get the maximum credit, in act I find that when I am not multitasking I have a harder time staying on task.

3. Is there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just a new way of living? Should we be concerned?

  The internet is an addiction, I don't think it's as detrimental as say...cocaine, but it is still an addiction. Many people, myself included, find it hard to sign off. There are detrimental side affects of Internet Addiction, problems with staying connected to your family, issues with getting schoolwork done efficiently, these are very real concerns.

4.  Do video games serve a purpose in education or are they a waste of time?

  I think that video games are sometimes detrimental for children, not as learners, but as active children. If the game is educational than it should be used in the classrooms. This is good for the children, it engages them in the new technology, which stimulates them. On the other hand, games like Call of Duty, seem to be pointless for young children. They are rated 17 and above for a reason.

5.  Do you believe that digital tools such as Google tools can save schools that are struggling?

   I think that while Google tools can help a school, they can't save it. The tools are simply that, tools. It would be like giving a hammer to a so so carpenter. If the teachers and administrators don't know how to teach or administrate then the tools will be worthless. There is no point in introducing tech to teachers that don't know it, and can't pass on all the benefits to their students.

 6.  Do parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online?  Whose job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility?  Parents/Teachers/Community/Government?

  My parents never knew what was going on when I was at the computer, much like the parents of the teens interview on the Frontline video. Parent's are getting smart, they are learning that there is a need to educate your teen to be safe online. They are teaching their kids to watch out for online predators and bullies. It is the job of the entire community to inform and teach children about digital citizenship and internet safety, there should be no area of learning which starts and stops at home or at school.

7.  Are kids and adults today ruining their digital footprints by sharing too much information online without realizing that it may be detrimental to their future? Should they care?

  I think that we are definitely expanding our digital footprints, but I don't know if we are ruining them. In an increasingly digital world I think it's an inevitable issue. We're doing more online, so we're leaving more behind online. It's like our carbon footprint, instead of going green, we need to stop using the internet. Until we can "go green" on the net we will be constantly expanding our digital footprint.

8.“Stranger Danger” and predator fears are often overblown by the media on shows such as Datelines “To Catch a Predator”.  What are the real dangers of technology in this day and age?  

  I think the dangers from before are still real, but the children online are getting more intelligent so it's making those dangers not as ... dangerous. I met my husband online, I was 15, totally uninformed on the dangers of the internet. He was 17 when we started chatting online...I asked my Mom if he could send me "snail mail". She emailed him, but in all actuality we trusted that he was who he said he was. And we got lucky. That's it, luck. And I don't think that's changed. There are bad people out there that will prey on the weak, innocent, young and old, it's all about how you deal with these people, be it online or offline.

9.  Share your overall reactions and thoughts about each documentary here.  Please relate it to your views as a teacher/parent/coach/etc... What did you learn, find interesting, find disturbing, relate to, did not relate to, etc...from watching either documentary that you would like to share with others?  

  My whole blog is basically the answer to this question. I really feel like the internet, gaming, virtual training, parent/child trust and sharing, they are all tied together. And if we learn the benefits of the internet, and teach what we learn to those around us, then I think the internet is totally beneficial. If we don't educate those around us, our parents, spouses, children, students, administrators, etc..then we won't use the Internet for all it can be used for.